Letter Led To Change

At the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, the wording on a label beside a new portrait of President George W. Bush says "the attacks on September 11, 2001...led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq." In fact, Sanders said in a letter to gallery director Martin E. Sullivan, it is not true that the terrorist attacks were somehow linked or "led to" the Iraq war. The 9/11 commission said so. On Monday, the gallery director promptly and graciously responded. "Our label was not intended to imply th

Monday, January 12, 2009

At the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, the wording on a label beside a new portrait of President George W. Bush says "the attacks on September 11, 2001…led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq." In fact, Sanders said in a letter to gallery director Martin E. Sullivan, it is not true that the terrorist attacks were somehow linked or "led to" the Iraq war. The 9/11 commission said so. On Monday, the gallery director promptly and graciously responded. "Our label was not intended to imply that there was a causal connection between the attacks that occurred on 9/11 and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Iraq…I appreciate your concern, however, about the words ‘led to'. We will revise the label and delete the words ‘led to.'" Sanders said, "I very much appreciate the prompt response from the director and appreciate his willingness to make the change."